A Marshmallow World

“A Marshmallow World” has always been one of our Christmas favorites — from the enveloping smoothness of Bing Crosby’s 1950 original to the dizzying lusciousness of Darlene Love’s 1963 rendition on “A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector.” We’ve been working on it for a while, and it’s been a labor of love.

Music always carries the energy of its surroundings. There is no denying that 2016 has been an exhausting year, and our rendition carries the weltschmerz of the era. This year, we gazed deep into the abyss, and the abyss gazed back. We’ve had to say goodbye to dear friends, family members, and cherished musical influences. We’ve felt out of place in our towns and sometimes even in our own skin. We’ve watched with fear as the world’s political situation has begun to careen out of control.

We may be tired, but we’re not defeated. In our recording of “A Marshmallow World,” we did our best to capture the joy and wonder of the season. But we hope you’ll forgive us if it also sounds like the lament of those who are clinging to art and music and love because actual hope seems scarce. The world is a snowball, as the song goes. It’s true that snowballs melt. But if we focus only on that ultimate demise, we miss the beauty of the present moment.

We wish you all a yum-yummy 2017 that is soft and sweet. We wish you a marshmallow world.